The Belle Chasse Water Treatment Improvements project is designed with a high-rate clarifier unit known as ballasted flocculation to replace the current clarifier and settling basins. In addition to the design of these two units, the project consisted of all piping, buildings/foundations, equipment pads, electrical work, emergency generator and modifications and upgrades to the existing transfer pumping system, upgrades and expansion of the existing filtration system and construction of an electrical building to house the new electrical equipment being installed at the plant. Additionally, this project included the design of a new On-site Hypochlorite Generation facility installed at the treatment plant. This unit was designed to be retrofitted into the existing treatment plants process trains and will be able to be implemented into the new treatment processes being constructed with the expansion. This type of unit will provide the operational functions of the plant to achieve needed credits to comply with new treatment regulations established by EPA. This unit will be designed to handle the current 7.5mgd process trains at the plant and be able to accommodate future expansion to 15mgd.
The improvements to the current filtration system were needed to produce the volume of water required to service the entire west bank of Plaquemines Parish once the Port Sulphur and Boothville Water Treatment Plants were taken off line. The upgrades increased the plant’s capacity from 6mgd to 9mgd.